UN: Syria’s war threatens international peace and security

27 August 2014
– Mass atrocities by Government forces and non-State armed
groups continue to take place in Syria, causing immeasurable
suffering to civilians and contributing to a spillover of
violence affecting international peace and stability, a
United Nations-appointed panel said today.

The Independent
International Commission of Inquiry on Syria emphasized that
with the continuous influx of foreign fighters and the
success of extremist groups, “risks of the conflict
spreading further are palpable.”

The Commission’s
latest report, based on 480 interviews and a wealth of
documentary material, chronicles the human cost of the
Syrian conflict that began in March 2011. The impact has
been particularly grave for women and children, whose most
basic rights are being violated every day.

“Hundreds of
civilians are dying each day as the fighting goes on with no
regard to law or to conscience,” said Paulo Pinheiro,
Chair of the Commission.

Women have been lashed for not
abiding by the dress code decreed by the group known as the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), according to a news release on the Commission’s
report. In Ar-Raqqah, children as young as 10 are being
recruited and trained at ISIS camps. The group has also
forcibly displaced Kurdish communities in northern Syria.
Journalists and other media workers are systematically
targeted.

In areas of Syria under the control of ISIS,
particularly in the north and north-east of the country,
Fridays are regularly marked by executions, amputations and
lashings in public squares, the report states. Civilians,
including children, are urged to watch. Bodies of those
killed are placed on display for several days, terrorizing
the local population.

The Commission reported that
“members of ISIS have committed war crimes and crimes
against humanity in Aleppo and Ar-Raqqah governorates
including acts of torture, murder, enforced disappearances
and forcible displacement.”

Other non-State armed groups
continue to commit violations, including summary executions
and shelling deliberately targeting civilians. For instance,
Homs city has been rocked by over a dozen car bombs since
this April. The armed group Jabhat Al-Nusra has claimed
responsibility for some of these attacks. Meanwhile, armed
groups continue to shell Government-controlled areas of
Aleppo and Damascus, causing civilian deaths and
injuries.

The report stated that the Government also
commits violations, including war crimes and crimes against
humanity, with impunity. Between January and July, hundreds
of men, women and children were killed every week by the
Government’s indiscriminate firing of missiles and barrel
bombs into civilian-inhabited areas. In some instances,
there is clear evidence that civilian gatherings were
deliberately targeted, constituting massacres, as detailed
in the report.

The Commission reported that Government
soldiers at checkpoints prevented injured civilians from
reaching hospitals. Hospitals in restive areas continue to
be targeted and Government forces refused to allow aid
deliveries of essential medicines and surgical supplies.
Humanitarian aid continued to be obstructed as a weapon of
war.

Meanwhile, in Government prisons, detainees were
subjected to horrific torture and sexual assault. The
methods employed and conditions of detention support the
Commission’s long-standing findings of systematic torture
and mass deaths of detainees.

In April and May, Government
forces used chemical agents, likely chlorine, in eight
separate incidents in western Syria, the Commission found.
Children are increasingly recruited by non-State armed
groups and by the Government’s Popular Committees to
participate in hostilities. The breakdown of family and
community networks, often due to the death or disappearance
of men, has left women and girls vulnerable and primarily
responsible for the care of their families.

“The
international community’s failure in its most elemental
duties – to protect civilians, halt and prevent atrocities
and create a path toward accountability – has been matched
on the ground by an abandonment of even the pretence of an
adherence to norms of international law. As can be seen
today, this has grave implications for the entire region,”
the report added.

The UNRWA team resumed distribution in
Yarmouk camp on 16 and 17 July after a break of two days.
Food parcels, hygiene kits, vitamin packs, rehydration salts
and various other food items were distributed to hundreds of
families.Photo: UNRWA ArchivesSeveral States continue to
deliver mass shipments of arms, artillery and aircraft to
the Syrian Government, or contribute with logistical and
strategic assistance. Meanwhile, other States, organizations
and individuals support armed groups with weapons and
financial support. The weapons they transfer to the warring
parties in Syria are used in the perpetration of war crimes.
The Commission is recommending the imposition of an arms
embargo and called on the international community to curb
the proliferation and supply of weapons.

“Accountability
must be part of any future settlement if it is to result in
an enduring peace. Too many lives have been lost and
shattered,” stated Mr. Pinheiro.

This report marks the
third anniversary of the establishment of the Commission of
Inquiry on Syria. In addition to Mr. Pinheiro, the
Commission comprises Karen Koning AbuZayd, Carla del Ponte
and Vitit Muntarbhorn. It has been mandated by the UN Human
Rights Council to investigate and record all violations of
international human rights law, war crimes and crimes
against humanity since the start of the
conflict.

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